By Peter Okutu
A Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist working at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Dr. Chidi Esike, has discovered a new technique for stopping life-threatening bleeding that kills women after delivery.
The new technique developed by Dr Esike called ESIKE’S TECHNIQUE preserves women’s wombs in addition to effectively stopping the bleeding.
The ESIKE’s TECHNIQUE was published in the most recent edition of the highly respected OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY, the official journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists volume 136 number 3 of August 2020.
Between 2009 and 2018, the Esike’s Technique had been used to treat uncontrollable life-threatening bleeding in 18 women who started bleeding uncontrollably after delivering their babies and bleeding was successfully stopped with this technique in 16 of these women with the preservation of their wombs.
In a press statement by the one-time Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Ebonyi State Chapter, Esike pointed out that the technique was also compared to other similar methods of controlling bleeding after delivery and was found to be different, unique and to have many advantages over them.
The statement read: “It is estimated that every year, about 14 million women around the world suffer from excessive bleeding after childbirth. The World Health Organization estimates that about 60% of death of mothers that occur during pregnancy in developing countries are due to excessive bleeding after delivery (postpartum haemorrhage, PPH for short) and this accounts for more than 100,000 maternal deaths (death of mothers ) per year. It is estimated that every four (4) minutes, one woman dies of bleeding occurring after childbirth.
“Despite all the efforts by health workers to control excessive bleeding after childbirth, it is estimated that the occurrence of excessive bleeding after childbirth is rising, studies have found that the rate of excessive bleeding after delivery rose from 1.5% in 1999 to 4.1% in 2009.
“Unfortunately, most of these deaths from excessive bleeding after childbirth (PPH) estimated at 99% of all the PPH occur in low and middle-income countries like Nigeria with only the remaining 1% occurring in the industrialized countries.
“Health workers however are not relenting in their efforts to fight excessive bleeding in women after childbirth. However, in spite of all these efforts to prevent excessive bleeding after delivery about, 3% to 16.5% of women still go on to experience excessive bleeding after childbirth and will go on to have treatment.
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“This has made us to lose a lot of mothers who had excessive bleeding after childbirth in our numerous villages in the hinterland where the vast majority of these women dwell because the few less experienced medical doctors that deliver the women or whom these bleeding women are brought to cannot perform this complex operation of removal of the womb.
“It is against this background that Doctors and other health personnel especially those involved in the care and delivery of women are very excited about the Esike’s Technique that effectively controls the bleeding and also preserves the womb. In addition to the technique being effective, it is simple, easy to teach, easy to learn and most importantly preserves the womb of women with uncontrollable life-threatening bleeding after childbirth.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association, Ebonyi State Chapter through its Secretary, Mr. Chijioke Anyigor Ogah and Chairman, Dr. Ben Umezuruike congratulated Dr. Esike for his rare contribution in the medical field.
“We congratulate one of our great teachers, a dependable mentor and one who have served our noble Association in the capacity of Chairman, Dr Chidi Esike on the international recognition of his innovative method of controlling postpartum haemorrhage. We are not unaware of the impact the result of this your creative output will bring not only to the medical profession but humanity in general’.
The Association of Resident Doctors of AE- FETHA under the leadership of Dr Osuagwu David Chidubem in their own felicitation “congratulated Dr. Esike on the innovative Esike’s technique invented here in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki which is capable of competing favourably in the international space’
